Wireless mobile communications networks typically rely on an address, such as an IP address or a telephone number, in order to allow a user to communicate with another user. When a sending user wishes to send a message to a receiving user, for example a Short Message Service (SMS) message or a message for establishing a telephone call, the sending user must already know the address of the receiving user.
There are some circumstances where the sending user does not have access to the address of the receiving user. For example, consider the situation where the sending user is watching a football match at a pub, and the user does not have the addresses of any of the other people in the pub. If the sending user wishes to share, for example, media content such as a news flash, with the other people in the pub, he has no way of doing this as he does not have the addresses of the other people present.
One way to send a message without knowing the receiving user's address is to create a short range Personal Area Network (PAN) using a technology such as Bluetooth™. The message can then be sent to other users within the range of the PAN who have communication devices using compatible PAN technology, and are willing to accept the message. However, PANs typically have a very limited range, and the message can only be sent to receiving users who have communication devices with compatible hardware.
Another way to send a message without knowing the receiving user's address is to use a technology such as infra red (IR) data transmission. A modulated IR beam is generated by the sending user's communication device and used to encode the message. In order for the receiving user to receive the message, the receiving user's communication device must have a line-of-sight with the sending user's communication device. IR data transmission is therefore only suitable for very short ranges and communication with no more than one communication device at a time.